MARKET RASEN EARTHQUAKE

Vibrock Limited’s V901 Seismograph records the Market Rasen Earthquake 

Just before 1 am on 27th February 2008 the largest earthquake in the UK for the last 24 years occurred with an epicenter near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire.  This quake measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale, was felt as far afield as Scotland, Wales and the South East and was not only felt but also recorded at our Heanor head office location, some 50 miles from the epicenter.

Inspection of the seismic trace shows the typical earthquake signatures of relatively long duration and low frequency vibration – the two parameters that give the potential for earthquakes to cause so much damage.

This was the largest UK earthquake since 1984 when a tremor of magnitude 5.4 was recorded in North Wales.

The largest ever recorded in the UK was at Dogger Bank in the North Sea in 1991 at a Richter magnitude of 6.1, some ten times stronger than the Market Rasen earthquake.

The UK has between 200 to 300 earthquakes each year of which around 10% are felt by those near to the epicenter.  They are caused by a build up of pressure in faults within the ground that, as in this case, may have been dormant for tens or even hundreds of millions of years.

There are various claims of damage from this earthquake and, as is typical within the UK, are predominantly of cracked or collapsed chimneys.